A day in Cape Town

 Laura and I enjoyed a gorgeous day in Cape Town. We went to a couple of our favourite stores, watched the seals going crazy in the water, sat outside and listened to live African music for hours, and I spent a little tiny bit of time working on my presentation for the next day.

My presentation was for my gender class, and it was about how sexual violence against women during apartheid was largely ignored. It was barely acknowledged or taken seriously, and there are consequences still lasting today. Thankfully my presentation went very well, even though the day before I was relaxing listening to the African musicians by the sea in Cape Town :)

Laura has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor of my room. I have a sleeping bag and a blanket, so everything has worked out perfectly.  :)

The only bad news is that my laptop and bicycle got stolen within the same week. I never take my laptop to university, but I did on this particular day because Laura and I were going to sit and work on schoolwork in the bakery together. On the way to the bakery two men began a simple and nice conversation with me. I never felt threatened or suspected anything. When I got to the bakery my laptop was gone. We assume they are the ones who took it because any other options throughout that morning just do not make sense.

A few days later Laura and I got caught in an intense rainstorm on the way home. We arrived soaked to the bone. Because everything was so wet I left my bike outside and forgot to lock it (even though almost every other day I put my bike inside at night). The next morning I woke up and my bike was gone. Someone had jumped over the gate that night to get it. They kindly took off my basket and U-lock, placed the straps to my basket and my U-lock neatly inside my basket, left the basket on the ground, and just took the bike. Wow...

Sadly I have had some bad luck. I must say I was surprised after not having a single incident last year...only to now have two things stolen in the same week. I am not happy about it at all. I made a police report for both items, but other than that there is nothing I can do. Sadly, neither have been found yet. This just helps me to remember to be careful all the time. Even if nothing had happened before the possibility is still always there, and you have to take necessary precautions.

Laura and me. 

Same old 4 (George and Georgia, Laurin and Laura)

After Jacob and Iris left, the gang got back together again. Laura and I met up with George and Laurin for a beer. It was nice for all of us to be together again. It reminded me of having a braai and watching the rugby games last year. 

Sadly my picture of Laurin is not so good. He was not in the picture taking mood, so I had to secretly sneak one in 

Earlier that day Laura had came to my Public Theology class and watched me do a 30 minute presentation on how religion was involved and affected apartheid. It went really well, and seeing Laurin and George was a great way to end the evening. 

They are still the same as ever. Busy busy busy, but always in a good mood and happy to get together.  Too bad Laura can't stay for the whole semester. It isn't the same without her.

Me. George.

Laura. Me. George. 

Laura. 

Laurin and Laura. 

Ending our trip with Jacob and Iris

After the Indalu Game Reserve we headed to our couch surfing host in Mossel Bay. Our host was an American man from Michigan who was retired and wanted a project. He still has his home in Michigan but he is fixing up this big old house in South Africa since it is ridiculously less expensive than doing it in the USA. He showed us his garden that was in progress. He explained that building this garden was $5,000 in South Africa, and would easily be $40,000+ in the United States. This was really true. It was pretty unbelievable. Later that evening he suggested a restaurant that had seafood since Jacob and Iris were desperate to have oysters. We all had dinner together. 

The next day we drove all the way from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth. Jacob and Iris enjoyed oysters for lunch again on the way. In Port Elizabeth we met Kevin, our air bnb host. He is from Kenya. He hung out with us almost the whole time. We had dinner together, and breakfast together the next day. He showed us the local market. Because Laura and I joined this trip unexpectedly he even set up a mattress in the living room for us to sleep on. He talked to us about traditions in Kenya, and told us many stories about his family. He also shared his slideshow with us which was about what he is working on for his phD here in South Africa. He is a fascinating person. We all got his phone number and hope to stay in touch with him!

While Iris continued to shop at the outdoor market, Jacob, Laura, and I braved the cold water and jumped into the ocean. We stayed as long as we could, but then had to get out and enjoy the sun for a bit. Shortly afterwards Jacob and Iris had to jump in a cab and head to the airport to get on their Nomad Adventure Tour. Laura and I said a quick goodbye and watched them drive away. From there Laura and I had quite an adventure finding a taxi, finally went back to Kevin's place, got our stuff, and took Uber to the train station. We got on the train around 5:30pm, and got off in Stellenbosch around 4:30 am. Just 3 hours or so before I had to get up for my 9:00am Monday class! 

Jacob and Iris continued to Kruger National Park (where they saw the Big 5 all in one day), and also went to Pretoria and Johannesburg. Sadly I was unable to join because of school, but that was okay. Now they are back in Hong Kong. Our time together was so short, but it meant everything in the world to me that they came all the way to South Africa to visit me. I can only hope that they also had a fantastic time here, and enjoyed all their experiences!!! :) 

Me. Laura. 

Jacob. Laura. 

Jacob, Laura, and Iris. 

Me. Jacob. Laura. Iris. 

Me. Iris. Jacob. Laura. 

Jacob, Iris, Kevin, Laura, me.
(Keven was our air bnb host from Kenya. He is getting his phD in South Africa, working with recycling and the children in the townships, and doing AMAZING work with art and education! 

Laura found a giraffe. True love :)

Jacob and me. 

Laura and Jacob.
This is Jacob's idea of trying to protect himself from the sun since he forgot to wear sunscreen. 

Laura and Jacob being silly on the beach :)

Jacob and me.
Met in New Zealand 2011.
Now in South Africa, February 2016.
Friends for life :)

Indalu

Last year when my boyfriend, Michael, visited me we accidentally stumbled upon the Indalu Game Reserve on our way home from our road trip. The brochure said we could walk with elephants, and I was dying to do it. We ended up having the most amazing time!

Jacob and Iris said they were taking a road trip from Cape Town to Mossel Bay, and then all the way to Port Elizabeth. I wanted to go, but I had school on Monday and definitely could not miss it. I almost decided not to go because of conflicts with school and expensive plane tickets. But Laura and I ended up chatting with our friend, Laurin, who suggested we look into the night busses. So, we found a night bus from Port Elizabeth to Stellenbosch for only $25 per person. We knew it wasn't going to be fun, but Laura and I decided to go for it! 

Because of my awesome previous experience at Indalu with Michael, I brought Jacob, Iris, and Laura to the same place. We had an amazing time. The weather was gorgeous. The elephants were just as massive and stunning as they were before. We had the great experienced elephant trainers from Zimbabwe. The whole thing was fabulous. The only sad thing was that Iris was too scared to feed the elephants (which is one of the best parts)! 

As usual Osty, the Ostrich joined us on our one kilometre elephant walk. He stays in the back, right in line with the rest of the elephants. Osty did this when Michael and I were there together, and apparently he does this every single time. Even if they take two walks in a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, Osty is right there with them. It seems after spending so much time with these elephants, Osty may think he actually is an elephant. Neither the elephants, or Osty, seem to mind the identity confusion. They are all quite happy. I still get a kick out of it every time. It is too funny. Osty never misses a walk. I can understand why though...walking with these elephants is an experience of a lifetime :)

Iris and me. 

Loving this ostrich :)

Me. Laura. 

Laura. Me. 

Laura. 

Me. 

Feeding the elephants. 

Jacob. Iris. Laura. Me. 

Jacob. Iris. Me. Laura. 

Iris and Jacob. 

Me. 

Chasing Osty, the ostrich. 

Osty and me. 

Osty was not in the mood to play games. 

Hi Laurin!

While Jacob and Iris ventured  back to Cape Town to do a little more exploring, Laura and I met up with our friend Laurin. You saw pictures of him on the blog from last year. He is the first person I met at orientation. 

Laurin was only supposed to stay one semester, but he has worked it out to stay another. He is studying, tutoring, and teaching some classes at Stellenbosch which will all help him with his masters degree back home in Germany. 

We are glad Laurin is still here, and with Laura back...it felt just like last year as if nothing had changed. It was very nice and relaxing :)

Laura. Laurin.

Laura. Laurin.

Me. Laura. Laurin.

Laurin. Laura. 

Me. Laurin. 

Jacob, Iris, and Laura meet each other!

Laura arrived safely from Austria, and I was so happy to see her. I was even more excited to introduce her to my good friends, Jacob and Iris. It was unbelievable to have my friends from Hong Kong and from Austria in South Africa visiting me at the same time! 

Laura and I took Jacob and Iris to our favourite place which we call, The Bakery. Jacob bought some honey there, and we had a delicious breakfast. 

I gave Jacob and Iris a short tour of the campus. Then we took Uber and went to a beautiful place near Stellenbosch to do a wine tasting. We were surrounded by mountains and water. The only bad thing was that the weather was so hot. I barely drink anyway, so the combination for me was too much, and I ended up not finishing a single glass except for the first one. 

Later we went to another very cute restaurant that Laura and I like in Stellenbosch. We had delicious food. Iris loved the street the restaurant was on, and was shocked by how pretty Stellenbosch is. 

Later we walked around, came back to my place, played with the dogs, and we all fell asleep early :)

Jacob. Me. Iris.
Walk by Stellenbosch campus. 

You can see how hot it is! 

Jacob and Iris. 

Laura. Iris. Me.

Iris. Jacob. Me. Laura.
Outside the theology building on campus where I take a Public Theology course. 

Jacob and Iris. 

Jacob, Iris, and me.
Bakery, Stellenbosch.

Iris. Laura. Me.
Before wine tasting. 

Wine tasting. 

Beautiful surroundings for the wine tastings.
Mountains and water :) 

Me. Laura.

Jacob and Iris.
Wine and HEAT.  Too much! 

Visitors in South Africa!

Hello all,

It is February 8th, and today my second week of my second semester has already started. I got back from Germany safely, had to adjust from cold to HOT, and get back into the swing. I am registered and in my four classes for the semester, and already had a successful start to the semester last week!

Things are about to get crazy though. My friends, Jacob and Iris, who I met while traveling in New Zealand have come to South Africa to visit me! They are currently staying in Cape Town, and will travel within the next two weeks ending up at Kruger National Park and flying home out of Johannesburg. Unfortunately I cannot join them in all their travels because of school.

On top of that....my friend, Laura, another international student I met studying at Stellenbosch last semester, is arriving to visit TODAY! You all have seen hundreds of pictures of Laura and me already in South Africa, on our Nomad trip, and even in Austria and Germany!

Laura will meet Jacob and Iris, and we will all get to spend time together. I can't even say how excited I am. School is still a top priority, so I have to find a way to fit everything in!

Below are pictures from me visiting Jacob and Iris last night in Cape Town :)

Jacob and me. 

Jacob and me. 

Iris and Jacob. 

Iris. Me. Jacob. 

Jacob and Iris.

Iris and me. 

Jacob and Iris.